I imagine you'll still need to use iTunes to have any chance of doing something basic like copying files off or on to it.

And you’d be wrong, going by how it’s done on iPad. The Files app lets you copy files directly to USB, and the few times I’ve used Files on my phone, it seems identical. You can also copy files to iCloud or any other cloud service like Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox from Files, or use Airdrop.

I know it’s cool to hate on Apple, but at least be up to date about hating. You haven’t needed to use iTunes to move files in years.